"Agonising Hysteroscopy"

I have never experienced such excruciating pain. I was not warned beforehand. I received no literature at all from the hospital. The possibility of severe pain was not made plain to me on the day of the procedure, in fact it was played-down. 

I have endured other procedures and do not have a low pain threshold. However, as I told the hysteroscopist, I’d suffered badly during a similar biopsy some years earlier. I was told that this time I’d have a local I to my cervix. I asked would that reduce uterine pain, which is where I had severe pain last time. The response was no but the equipment used is now much better, reducing pain. The problem last time would have been the method used, the uterus having few pain sensors. There was no mention of sedation or general anaesthetic.

The injection was extremely painful but at least it was over quite quickly. After that the pain level ramped up as the device was inserted. At the point the biopsies were taken the pain absolutely exploded, I was in agony. I was trying hard not to scream in pain, about to vomit and very close to blacking out. I was in so much pain that I could not communicate this to the medical staff. The procedure just seemed to go on and on and felt barbaric.

I was nauseous and struggled to stand afterwards but was just sent straight out of the unit with no one checking I was ok / needed a rest / needed a drink. Still in severe pain, I only got to the café area just outside the door and had to sit for 10-15 minutes to recover myself. From there I could walk only the short distance to hospital reception. After another 10 minute rest I got to a seat outside the building where I had to sit and rest again.

No one in the examination room had been at all alarmed. Throughout, one of the nurses was chattering rapidly right next to my head, which I found quite disorientating – I later found out this was probably meant to distract me from the pain. I find that insulting, to think that chatter about the weather can dull the most severe pain many women will ever endure (I’m now aware that many report this as “off the scale” compared to childbirth).

I now know that RCOG give advice on suitability for OPH procedures. Any one of the 5 categories listed would mean that extreme pain is likely and needs to be managed. Of the 5 categories, 3 apply to me.

•   if you faint during your periods because of pain

•   if you have experienced severe pain during a previous vaginal examination

•   if you have experienced difficult or painful cervical smears

My situation was known by the medical team. From the information I now have, I should never have had this treatment without sedation or GA, so why was that not obvious to them? Having managed my severe menstrual pain for 40 years, approximately 500 instances of this, I am the one with the best information on the severity of my uterine pain and how to treat it. My expertise should have been included in that pain management.

I am glad that there are methods to examine the uterus and very grateful for our wonderful NHS - but I am shocked that these are carried out with seemingly no regard for the severe pain that many women experience. It was no surprise to learn of the petition “End barbaric NHS hysteroscopies with inadequate pain-relief”.